Egypt

Egypt, the most populous country in the Arab world, claims one of the world’s oldest cultures, descending from an ancient civilization that emerged in the 10th millennium BCE.

Widespread Middle East unrest in 2011 loosed grievances against the 30-year autocratic rule of President Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted following a dramatic period of protest that became a watershed moment in the Arab Spring. This upheaval paved the way for the country’s first free parliamentary elections, in which the Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi was elected president. Subsequent protests against Morsi’s authoritarianism led to a 2013 military coup d’etat and the election of former general Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as president in 2014.

Learn more about Egypt. Scroll below to view our archive of articles and chronology of latest news.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 2, 2015

Unauthenticated audio recordings of senior Egyptian officials seem to show both Egyptian military and United Arab Emirates played much greater part in stoking protests against Pres Mohamed Morsi in June 2013 than has been admitted; recordings are released through Islamic news outlets that oppose Pres Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. MORE

Feb. 27, 2015

Six bombs explode across Egypt, killing one person and wounding at least nine others; obscure group called Popular Resistance Movement claims responsibility. MORE

Feb. 25, 2015

Cairo court acquits Habib el-Adly, former Pres Hosni Mubarak's longtime interior minister, of last of several criminal charges that have kept him jailed. MORE

Feb. 24, 2015

Egyptian blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah is sentenced to five years in prison and fined $13,000 for his activities helping to lead 2011 uprising; several other activists are given similar sentences and fines. MORE

Feb. 23, 2015

Egyptian steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz, who epitomized cronyism and corruption in Egypt during reign of Pres Hosni Mubarak, is disqualified from running for Parliament. MORE

Feb. 21, 2015

Gulf Cooperation Council, in possible indication of discord in region, withdraws statement that defended Qatar against Egypt's accusation of supporting terrorism. MORE

Feb. 20, 2015

Gulf Cooperation Council, group representing oil-rich Persian Gulf monarchies, comes to Qatar's defense after Egypt accuses country of supporting terrorism; move seems aimed at balancing allegiances and uniting Sunni Arab states against threats of Islamic State and Shiite Iran. MORE

Feb. 20, 2015

Editorial warns that Egypt, in carrying out airstrikes against Islamic State in Libya and demanding United Nations intervention there, is inflaming factional divisions that fuel terrorism and hindering UN peace effort; holds that instead, Egyptian Pres Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and other regional leaders should work together to support United Nations initiative aiming to create unified Libyan government that can fight Islamic State. MORE

Feb. 19, 2015

Family and friends of Islam Yaken, young Egyptian man who renounced his life to join Islamic State in 2013, are struggling to understand what led to his decision; Yaken had been raised in Cairo in middle-class family that never condoned violence or murder; his story highlights larger trend threatening both Muslim nations and West as thousands of young men volunteer to become foot soldiers for Islamist extremist groups. MORE

Feb. 17, 2015

Egyptian Pres Abdel Fattah el-Sisi says National Defense Council will continuously monitor events in Libya after Egyptian airstrike on Libyan town of Derna; strike was retaliation for beheading of more than a dozen Egyptian Christians by Libyan franchise of Islamic State group, and is sign of growing regional chaos. MORE

Feb. 14, 2015

Egyptian police patrolling district in Cairo is hit by explosive device; one police officer dies and nine others are injured; Islamist militant group Ajnad Misr claims responsibility for attack. MORE

Feb. 13, 2015

French Pres Francois Hollande announces that Egypt will purchase nearly $6 billion worth of military hardware from France, including two dozen fighter jets and naval frigate. MORE

Feb. 13, 2015

Authorities in Egypt bar news media from discussing case of Smaimaa el-Sabbagh, prominent Egyptian activist who was killed by police at close range while visiting memorial in Cairo's Tahrir Square. MORE

Feb. 13, 2015

Egyptian court orders release of Al Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, who were arrested in 2013 on charges of broadcasting false reports of unrest in Egypt as part of conspiracy with Muslim Brotherhood; prosecutors offered no evidence to support such claims. MORE

Feb. 10, 2015

Egyptian Pres Abdel Fattah el-Sisi calls for investigation into lethal clash with police that killed at least 25 people in stampede near Cairo soccer stadium; government orders league to suspend play as prosecutors order arrest of leaders of Ultras White Knights fan group. MORE

Feb. 9, 2015

Egyptian steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz, ally of former Pres Hosni Mubarak, files papers to run again for Parliament; was sentenced to prison for corruption, but was released on bail in 2014. MORE

Feb. 9, 2015

Feb. 5, 2015

Ahmed Douma, Egyptian activist who helped lead 2011 uprising that toppled Pres Hosni Mubarak, is sentenced to life in prison as part of crackdown on Islamist and liberal government opponents. MORE

Feb. 4, 2015

Egyptian activist Shaimaa el-Sabgagh, who was killed by police while visiting memorial in Cairo's Tahrir Square, has become potent symbol of lengths to which military-backed government will go to reinstate authoritarian rule; witnesses recorded her death as it occurred after she was struck by police bullet; killing of protesters, mostly Islamists supporters of Muslim Brotherhood, but also unarmed leftists or liberals, happens almost weekly. MORE

Feb. 2, 2015

Egypt deports Australian television journalist Peter Greste, who was jailed for over a year on politicized charges about his work; he was one of three jailed journalists for Al Jazeera's English-language unit. MORE

Feb. 1, 2015

Egyptian Pres Abdel Fattah el-Sisi blames Muslim Brotherhood for bombings in North Sinai that killed at least 30 people. MORE

Jan. 30, 2015

Series of simultaneous car bombings in Sinai region of Egypt kills 26 people; attack is first such incident since Egypt's main Islamist militant group aligned itself with Islamic State, and casts doubt on government's efforts to stem insurgency. MORE

Jan. 27, 2015

Egyptian authorities release Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, adult sons of of former Pres Hosni Mubarak, from prison pending retrial on corruption charges; analysts say release shows that Pres Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's government is confident any potential backlash would be manageable. MORE

Jan. 27, 2015

Egyptian appeals court sentences Dr Raslan Fadl to two years of hard labor for manslaughter and three months for performing female genital mutilation on 13-year-old Suhair el-Batea in 2013, after which she subsequently died; it is first time criminal conviction has been given for practice in the country. MORE

Jan. 26, 2015

At least 18 people are killed in political violence in Egypt on fourth anniversary of Arab Spring uprising, in display of ruthless crackdown by military-backed government; deaths of high school student Sondos Reda Abu Bakr and activist poet Shaimaa al-Sabbagh capture nation's attention. MORE

Jan. 23, 2015

Egyptian court orders release of Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, two sons of deposed president Hosni Mubarak who had been jailed after January 2011 uprising over corruption charges, pending retrial. MORE

Jan. 14, 2015

Egyptian Judge Salama Abdel Meguid voids last standing criminal conviction of former Pres Hosni Mubarak, and orders retrial for embezzlement charge, citing procedural problems; move reflects lack of will among military leaders who see deposed leader as one of their own. MORE

Jan. 13, 2015

Egyptian court acquits 26 men on debauchery charges; case was viewed as exemplifying crackdown on gay men by Pres Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi's government. MORE

Jan. 13, 2015

Militants in Libya who have identified themselves as Tripolitania Province of Islamic State say that they are holding 21 Egyptian Christians captive; rise of third known Libyan affiliate of Islamic State group points to possibility that its influence is bleeding out beyond Syria and Iraq. MORE

Jan. 12, 2015

Egyptian authorities release Khaled al-Qazzaz, foreign relations secretary and adviser to ousted Pres Mohamed Morsi, who was detained with him during military takeover in July 2013. MORE

Jan. 11, 2015

News Analysis; speculation that Adolf Eichmann's top lieutenant Alois Brunner died relatively recently in Syria, as posited by Simon Wiesenthal Center, points to fact that many former Nazis fled to the Middle East and North Africa; Nazi influence seems to have been particularly strong in Syria and Egypt. MORE

Jan. 9, 2015

Egypt evacuates hundreds of families from town of Rafah near Gaza Strip as military begins erasing town to complete security zone along Palestinian territory; actions are response to repeated attacks by militants against Egyptian security forces. MORE

Jan. 7, 2015

Egyptian Pres Abdel Fattah el-Sisi visits Coptic Christian cathedral during its Christmas Eve Mass, and state news media says he is first president of country to do so. MORE

Jan. 6, 2015

Editorial criticizes latest persecution of gay men by the Egyptian government, reserving particular scorn for cruel trial of 26 men that is now underway; maintains crackdown has pushed country's gay community even deeper underground, and may be serving as a cynical distraction from substantial problems of state; calls for strong international condemnation. MORE

Jan. 4, 2015

Palestinian officials call on Egyptian government to investigate fatal shooting of Zaki al-Hobi, 16-year-old boy from Gaza who they say was killed by Egyptian soldiers. MORE

Jan. 2, 2015

Highest appeals court in Egypt calls for retrial of Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste, Al Jazeera journalists who have been imprisoned for more than a year; while order is implicit recognition of flaws in cases against the men, it does not guarantee they will be freed in near future. MORE

Dec. 27, 2014

Rights activists in Egypt say new law enacted by military-backed Pres Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is sign that Egypt is becoming more repressive police state; law, intended to fight terrorism, imposes potential life sentence for any crime interpreted as harmful to country. MORE

Dec. 27, 2014

Egypt will not show biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings because it asserts movie has historical falsehoods; Morocco has also banned film's distribution. MORE

Dec. 26, 2014

Roadside bomb strikes Egyptian army vehicle and kills officer and soldier in Sinai Peninsula. MORE

Dec. 23, 2014

Qatar suspends broadcast of satellite news channel sharply critical of Egypt's military-led government after pressure from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the Egyptian government; shutdown of channel, Egyptian affiliate of the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera network, is blow to supporters of Egypt's deposed president, Mohamed Morsi, and his Islamist group Muslim Brotherhood. MORE

Dec. 22, 2014

Egyptian Pres Abdel Fattah el-Sisi removes Gen Mohamed Farid el-Tohamy as chief of general intelligence, replacing him with Khaled Fawzy and raising speculation about a government shake up; el-Tohamy was an influential figure and mentor to el-Sisi. MORE

Dec. 21, 2014

Egypt and other Gulf states are still at odds with Qatar over its support of Muslim Brotherhood despite Gulf Cooperation Council reconciliation. MORE

Dec. 21, 2014

United States delivers 10 Apache helicopters to Egypt to support the country's counterterrorism efforts, sign that tensions between the two countries are easing. MORE

Dec. 21, 2014

Maj Gen Abdel-Fattah Osman reports that nearly 10,000 suspected militants and rioters were arrested in Egypt over the past 12 months. MORE

Dec. 17, 2014

Administrative court in Egypt overturns special committee's decisions to seize assets of Muslim Brotherhood leaders. MORE

Dec. 16, 2014

Egyptian Foreign Ministry says that American scholar Michele Dunne has been turned away from Cairo's airport for trying to enter country without proper visa; statement contradicts Dunne's account and reports in Egyptian media, which had viewed her expulsion as possible sign of military crackdown on dissent. MORE

Dec. 16, 2014

Editorial opposes element of spending bill that could provide more than $1.3 billion in unconditional military aid to Egypt; cites country's refusal to grant entry to American scholar Michele Dunne as only latest example of the repressive nature of Pres Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's governance; calls for package to be restructured in a way that forces el-Sisi to reconsider his ruthless and self-destructive methods. MORE

Dec. 14, 2014

Michele Dunne, American scholar and former diplomat who has been critical of government of Egyptian Pres Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, says she has been barred from entering Egypt. MORE

Dec. 3, 2014

Egyptian court sentences nearly 200 defendants to death after single mass trial in killing of police officers during riot in 2013; ruling is third mass sentencing in less than a year. MORE

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The unauthenticated recordings are the latest that appear to capture the private meetings and phone calls of senior defense officials. All have been released through Islamist news outlets that oppose President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

A wave of explosions killed a passer-by and wounded at least nine other people early Thursday morning across the Nile from Cairo, raising alarms about a pattern of attacks by diffuse groups against retail stores.

February 23, 2015, Monday

The steel tycoon who came to epitomize cronyism and corruption in Egypt during the era of President Hosni Mubarak was disqualified after he had failed to submit financial statements from one of his wives, according to a judicial official.